Post-9/11 monthly vet unemployment rate back down

Apr. 4, 2014 - 04:05PM
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Following a big jump in February, the March unemployment rate for the latest generation of veterans saw an even bigger decrease, the Labor Department’s latest employment report shows.

In contrast, the nation’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.7 percent in March, as the economy added 192,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment report, released this morning.

The unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans dropped to 6.9 percent last month, a big difference from the February rate of 9.2 percent. And that was itself a big spike compared to January, when 7.9 percent of post-9/11 vets were unemployed.

Veteran-specific data within the monthly employment reports are particularly vulnerable to such large fluctuations because of the small sample size involved. As a result, statisticians caution against using these monthly reports to draw broad conclusions about veterans’ employment.

A separate, annual veteran employment report by the same federal agency is typically viewed as more reliable.

That report, released just a few weeks ago, put unemployment for post-9/11 veterans in 2013 at 9 percent, down from 9.9 percent in 2012.

The March unemployment rate for post-9/11 vets one year ago was 9.2 percent. March 2014’s 6.9 percent rate is the lowest monthly rate since November 2008.

For veterans of all generations, the latest unemployment rate was 6 percent, down from February’s 6.3 percent as well as from the March 2013 mark of 7.1 percent.